Daniels v. City of Hartford, Ala.

• Decision Date: 18 August 2009
• Docket Number: Case No. 1:08-CV-668.
• Citation: 645 F.Supp.2d 1036
• Parties: Fred DANIELS and Garret Daniels, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF HARTFORD, ALABAMA, et al., Defendants.
• Court: U.S. District Court — Middle District of Alabama

645 F.Supp.2d 1036

Fred DANIELS and Garret Daniels, Plaintiffs, v. CITY OF HARTFORD, ALABAMA, et al., Defendants.

Case No. 1:08-CV-668.

United States District Court, M.D. Alabama, Southern Division.

August 18, 2009.

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Brian Dennis Turner, Jr., Samuel M. Hill, Hill Turner, LLC, Paul Ricky Kornis, Vincent Lee Adams, Adams & Kornis, LLC, Birmingham, AL, for Plaintiffs.

John Dewar Gleissner, Paige Huddleston Sykes, Rogers & Associates, Birmingham, AL, for Defendants.

MEMORANDUM OPINION AND ORDER

MARK E. FULLER, Chief Judge.

I. INTRODUCTION

Plaintiffs Fred and Garret Daniels, father and son, filed this action against Dale County, Alabama, Sheriff Wally Olson, Deputy Tim Byrd, Bryant Williams, the City of Hartford, Alabama, and Chief of Police Nick Finer on December 5, 2008. They seek to remedy alleged violations of rights protected by the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the Constitution of the United States and alleged commission of various state common law torts. They allege, among other things, that the defendants arrested and detained them without probable cause and subjected them to unconstitutional conditions during their pretrial detention. The case is now before the Court on a Motion for Summary Judgment, which Defendants filed on March 19, 2009. (Doc. # 51.) The Court has carefully considered the lengthy briefs in support of and in opposition to the Motion, together with the applicable law. For the reasons set forth below, the Motion is due to be GRANTED.

II. JURISDICTION AND VENUE

This Court has jurisdiction pursuant to 28 U.S.C. §§ 1331, 1343, and 1367 because Plaintiffs' claims are pursuant to the Fourth and Fourteenth Amendments to the United States Constitution, 42 U.S.C. § 1983, and various state law torts. The parties do not contest venue and personal jurisdiction, and the Court finds a sufficient basis for each.

III. LEGAL STANDARD

Under Rule 56(c) of the Federal Rules of Civil Procedure, summary judgment is appropriate "if the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any, show that there is no genuine issue as to any material fact and that the moving party is entitled to a judgment as a matter of law." Celotex Corp. v. Catrett, 477 U.S. 317, 322, 106 S.Ct. 2548, 91 L.Ed.2d 265 (1986). "An issue of fact is `genuine' if the record as a whole could lead a reasonable trier of fact to find for the nonmoving party. An issue is `material' if it might affect the outcome of the case under the governing law." Redwing Carriers, Inc. v. Saraland Apartments, 94 F.3d 1489, 1496 (11th Cir.1996) (quoting Anderson v. Liberty Lobby, Inc., 477 U.S. 242, 248, 106 S.Ct. 2505, 91 L.Ed.2d 202 (1986)).

The party asking for summary judgment "always bears the initial responsibility of informing the district court of the basis for its motion, and identifying those portions of `the pleadings, depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file, together with the affidavits, if any,' which it believes demonstrate the absence of a genuine issue of material fact." Celotex, 477 U.S. at 323, 106 S.Ct. 2548. The movant can meet this burden by presenting evidence showing there is no dispute of material fact, or by showing the nonmoving party has failed to present evidence in support of some element of its case on which it bears the ultimate burden of proof. Id. at 322-23, 106 S.Ct. 2548. Once the moving party has met its burden, Rule 56(e) "requires the nonmoving party to go beyond the pleadings and by her own affidavits, or by the `depositions, answers to interrogatories, and admissions on file,' designate `specific facts showing that there is a genuine issue for trial.'" Id. at 324, 106 S.Ct. 2548. To avoid summary judgment, the nonmoving party "must do more than simply show that there is some metaphysical doubt as to the material facts." Matsushita Elec. Indus. Co. v. Zenith Radio Corp., 475 U.S. 574, 586, 106 S.Ct. 1348, 89 L.Ed.2d 538 (1986). On the other hand, a court ruling on a motion for summary judgment must believe the evidence of the nonmovant and must draw all justifiable inferences from the evidence in the nonmoving party's favor. Anderson, 477 U.S. at 255, 106 S.Ct. 2505. After the nonmoving party has responded to the motion for summary judgment, the Court must grant summary judgment if there is no genuine issue of material fact and the moving party is entitled to judgment as a matter of law. Fed.R.Civ.P. 56(c).

IV. FACTS AND PROCEDURAL HISTORY

Plaintiffs Fred Daniels ("Fred") and Garret Daniels ("Garret") claim that Defendants Sheriff Wally Olson ("Sheriff Olson") and Deputy Tim Byrd ("Deputy Byrd") arrested them, detained them, and subjected them to criminal judicial proceedings, all absent probable cause. They also allege that defendants Sheriff Olsen and Dale County, Alabama ("Dale County") violated their right to due process under the Fourteenth Amendment to the Constitution of the United States by subjecting them to unconstitutional conditions of pretrial detention.¹ Plaintiffs in the Amended Complaint assert claims against Sheriff Olsen both in his official capacity as Sheriff of Dale County, Alabama, and in his individual capacity. Plaintiffs sue Deputy Byrd in his individual capacity only.

Defendants categorically deny these allegations. Sheriff Olsen and Deputy Byrd claim they are entitled to qualified immunity with respect to Plaintiffs' claims. Dale County makes several arguments in opposition to the claims against it. In accordance with their opposition, Defendants have moved for summary judgment in their favor on all claims. (Doc. # 51.) Plaintiffs responded, and Defendants replied.² The Motion is therefore under submission and ripe for disposition. The Court has carefully considered all documents submitted in support of and in opposition to the Motion. The submissions of the parties, viewed in the light most favorable to the nonmoving party, establish the following relevant facts:

Sheriff Olson and his deputies, including Deputy Byrd, arrested Fred and Garret on February 7, 2008. Deputy Byrd swore out the criminal complaint and arrest warrants for Fred and Garret on an alleged triple murder-for-hire the same day. He also swore out criminal complaints and arrest warrants for a conspiracy to commit assault. The complaints alleged that between November 1, 2007, and January 31, 2008, Fred and Garret conspired to commit murder-for-hire and assault-for-hire. The complaints named as targets of the murder-for-hire Ken Quattlebaum ("Judge Quattlebaum"), a local Circuit Judge,³ Bryant Williams ("Buddy Williams"), a local attorney, and Sharmon Daniels ("Sharmon"), Garret's ex-wife. The target of the alleged assault was Tim Williams, the ex-husband of Fred's daughter and Garret's sister Denise. Sheriff Olsen and Deputy Byrd claim they had probable cause to believe Fred and Garret asked Drew Garner ("Garner"), an acquaintance of theirs, to contract for the murder and assault of these individuals. Sheriff Olsen claims he had probable cause to believe Garner followed through with the request and approached a confidential informant, Carl Sylvestry ("Sylvestry"), about the murders and assault. The undisputed facts Sheriff Olsen and Deputy Byrd were able to rely upon to support probable cause are as follows:

A. Daniels v. Daniels Hearing and Initial Hartford Police Department Investigation

The facts that led to the arrest of Fred and Garret first came to light in a divorce proceeding before Judge Quattlebaum on January 30, 2008. The proceeding was an attempt by Buddy Williams to collect attorney's fees he incurred during the representation of Sharmon, Garret's then-ex-wife, in the divorce of Sharmon and Garret.⁴ During the hearing, Buddy Williams represented to the court that Fred and Garret were suspects in a murder-for-hire conspiracy directed by them, and that Fred and Garret had contracted for the murder of Judge Quattlebaum, Sharmon, and Buddy Williams himself, and had contracted for the assault of Tim Williams, who was previously married to Fred's daughter Denise Williams.

Buddy Williams called Hartford Police Chief Nick Finer ("Chief Finer") to the stand during the hearing, and Chief Finer testified to the facts Buddy Williams had brought to the attention of the court. He also testified to the following facts: Garner, an associate of Fred and Garret, approached a confidential informant, Sylvestry, and solicited the assault and murders for hire. Sylvestry then contacted the Hartford Police Department, which arranged a meeting between Garner, Sylvestry, and an undercover policeman posing as a hit man. The meeting between Garner, Sylvestry, and the undercover officer occurred on November 3, 2007. At the meeting, Garner offered the undercover officer $1,000.00 to compensate him for the murders and assault, but the officer told Garner that amount was insufficient. Garner and Sylvestry went to a body shop to collect more money.⁵ Once at the body shop, Garner exited the vehicle, leaving Sylvestry inside. Garner returned to the vehicle, and Garner and Sylvestry returned to meet the undercover policeman; Garner gave the policeman $2,000.00 additional dollars. Officer Mendiola, the undercover policeman, surreptitiously recorded his conversations with Garner.

Chief Finer also testified that, as of January 30, 2008, the date of the hearing, his office did not have any credible information linking Fred and Garret to the hit; Garner had refused to divulge the parties who requested the hit to the undercover officer and Sylvestry. Chief Finer also testified that "there's not enough strong evidence to build a case. If the evidence was there, they would have been charged." (Doc. # 1-2 23.) The Hartford Police did not undertake any investigation between the November set-up and the January 30, 2008,...